Gracebeast
by Qille
Summary: Sequel to Gracepunk. It's been eight months since the Factory was destroyed. They thought they were safe, but they were wrong. Now they have to fight deadlier enemies... and themselves. Be warned. It will get dark. Second installment to the Gracepunk trilogy.
1. To Steal Us

_A/N: Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between... THE GRACEPUNKS. ARE. BACK!_

* * *

**Gracebeast**

**Part 1: To Steal Us**

The summer air was so hot that Andrew felt like his blood was boiling. It wasn't as bad up here though. Not where the wind could reach him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes as the wind blew his short hair back. He had had to cut it short the previous fall after half of it had been burnt off. That had been at the end of October; it was June now, and he still had it cut short.

Of course, it was much better this way. A lot of things were better. The Gracebeast's factory had burnt to the ground, and all of them had been scattered. Of course... the only problem was that he hadn't seen the Gracebeast that Christopher told him was his brother since then. He knew he made it out alive – James had seen one of the other Gracebeasts pull him out. He just hoped he was okay.

Andrew sighed and breathed in the summer air, which was thick with the smell of pine and rain and the old wooden roof of the Library, which he was currently reclining on. It was too humid on the ground. Of course, he welcomed the heat, because he could use his Grace to keep himself cool and keep his abnormally high temperature from skyrocketing.

He lay there enjoying the reprise from the summer heat, but a minute later, he heard someone calling him. Sitting up, he crawled over to the edge of the roof and looked down into the window upside down. He saw Ben and Caleb standing there, staring back at him.

"Told you he'd be up there," Caleb said to Ben.

"Hey guys," said Andrew, still upside down. "What's up?"

"Some of us are going to go down to the lake," said Ben. "Want to come?"

"The lake?" asked Andrew, swinging himself down through the window and into the room.

"Yeah, there's a lake about fifteen minutes away," said Ben. "None of us have anything to do, and since it's hot as hell out, we figured why not go?"

Andrew only shrugged, trying to hide how appalling the idea felt to him. "I don't know, maybe," he said.

They stared at him. "What do you mean _maybe_?" asked Ben. "It's so hot I'm sweating through my eye patch."

"Yeah, well the heat doesn't really bother me..." said Andrew with a shrug.

They stared at him for another minute before Ben shrugged. "Okay, then I guess you can stay here."

"Have fun," said Andrew.

"Bye," said Ben. He and Caleb turned to leave, but then the door opened and Jen came inside. Andrew's eyes widened when he saw that she was wearing a bikini top and a pair of short gym shorts. She had a towel thrown over her shoulder, and her long black hair was tied back.

"Hey guys, are we going soon?" asked Jen, raising an eyebrow at the boys.

Ben and Caleb looked at Andrew, who gulped and forced himself to speak.

"Actually, you know what guys, I think I changed my mind," he stammered, refusing to make eye contact with any of them.

"Good," said Jen, smiling smugly. "Then go change. We're leaving in five minutes." Then she turned and went out the door with Ben following closely.

"Told you that would work," Jen said to Ben on the way out.

Andrew shook his head a bit and started to head for his room, but all of a sudden, Caleb reminded him that he was standing right behind him. He grabbed Andrew by the back of his shirt and held him in place.

"Keep your eyes _up_," said Caleb, his voice threatening. He was even more intimidating by the fact that he and Andrew were now the same height.

Andrew nodded frantically, and Caleb let go of his shirt and walked out without so much as looking at him.

Andrew gulped and made his way to his room. Ever since they had found Caleb again, he had been different. He didn't talk as much, and he kept to himself even more than before. His drawings had become more frantic and terrifying, and in the eight months since the factory burnt down, Andrew knew that the kid hadn't gotten a single good night's sleep. He hadn't seen him even smile since his sixteenth birthday a week ago.

He knew Jen was worried about Caleb too. She was keeping a closer eye on him than usual. But then again, that might be because he was dying.

It was his visions that were killing him. Ever since he was poisoned back at the factory, his visions had been getting worse and worse. He woke up every night either screaming or having a panic attack. Because of this, he was always sleep deprived, and this took away his appetite and weakened his immune system. He was okay at the moment because it was summer, but once it got cold again...

When they celebrated his birthday last week, Jen had looked like she was going through great pains to smile and be happy. It took Andrew a while to realize that she knew fully well that it was probably going to be her brother's last birthday.

Andrew shook his head a bit, trying to rid his mind of those morbid thoughts. Now that he was thinking about birthdays, he realized that Jen's birthday was next month. She was turning eighteen. Andrew didn't turn seventeen until September.

Sighing, he found a thin t-shirt and a pair of shorts that were somewhat waterproof. Then he went out the door and met up with the others.

They headed off towards the lake.

* * *

Warren sat against the cold stone wall. It was uncomfortable, but it wasn't as bad as the chain around his neck that had rubbed his skin raw. At least the air was fairly cool where he was.

He sat there in silence, fiddling with the paper clip he had managed to grab. Between the paper clip and the rusty nail that he was hiding in the ungodly tangles in his long matted hair, he could easily escape... if it weren't for the tracking device around his ankle. That one didn't have a lock that he could pick, and even if he did manage to get away, Rogue would be able to find him.

For a while he debated using the rusty nail and his own teeth to cut his foot off, but he knew he would probably die from shock and blood loss before he could get to the city. Not that he knew exactly where they were anyways.

He glanced up and saw that Rogue was still messing with the gun. He was modifying it again. Warren didn't know what it did, but it didn't look good.

Rogue had been keeping him hostage ever since the fire. He wasn't sure where they were, but he hadn't seen the sun in a month.

He sighed and stared down at the ankle bracelet, crusted with blood. If he could just figure out how to get it off, he could escape... He could go find his family... if they were still alive. He hadn't seen his uncle or his brother since the fire...

And he hadn't even spoken since Felix died.

Suddenly, across the room, Rogue stood up from his workbench. He held up the gun, examining it.

"I'll be back later," he said to Warren. "Don't worry, I'll try not to kill anyone."

Warren glared at him.

Rogue turned to leave, but he glanced over his shoulder at Warren. Then he strolled back over to him and knocked him unconscious.

Then he turned and left, locking the door.

* * *

_A/N: Well... this is going to be fun. Mwa. Ha. Ha._


	2. The Thief

_A/N: Sorry that this took so long, but hey, I did finish the plot for the entire story, so the chapters should be coming out quicker! So... hope you guys like this chapter! The action starts early in this story!_

* * *

**Gracebeast**

It didn't take long for them to reach the lake. They followed the path that had been worn down, and a few minutes later, the trees cleared to reveal the large body of water.

As soon as the lake was in view, Caleb and the twins immediately sprung to life and happily rushed forward, jumping into the water. Ben and Josh eagerly followed them into the water, grateful to catch a break from the heat.

Andrew smiled. It was good to see his friends smiling and laughing again, since everybody had been so traumatized by the events that had happened at the Factory.

He walked out near the water and sat down on the beach. The air was cooler here, and the tall pines close to the sand provided a comfortable shade.

After a moment, he heard a noise. Looking to his side, he saw Jen sit down next to him.

"Hi," he said, smiling a bit awkwardly and trying to avoid looking at anything other than her eyes.

Jen smiled back at him and rolled her eyes. "Caleb threatened you, didn't he?"

Andrew nodded a bit, relaxing. "Yeah, he's kinda scary now that he's as tall as me."

Jen laughed, looking back out at the lake. Ben and Josh were still in the shallow water – Josh was sitting and Ben was floating on his back – and the twins were a bit deeper, floating on inflatable rings they had brought. Caleb was right in the middle of the lake, and they could barely see him from where they were sitting.

"He's kinda far out there," noted Andrew.

"Yeah, but he's fine," said Jen, watching as Caleb ducked under the water. "The boy can't breathe properly without an inhaler, but he can hold his breath underwater for at least four minutes. I'm pretty sure he has gills."

Andrew shrugged and looked down at the sand he was sitting on. He scooped up a handful and looked up at Jen. "Want to see something cool?"

"Sure," said Jen, shifting so that she was directly facing Andrew.

He turned towards her and held out his hand. Then he squeezed it into a fist, and flames jumped out from between his sandy fingers. A moment later, he stood up and went down to the water. He dipped his hand into the water, which resulted in a hiss and a puff of steam. Then he pulled his hand back out of the water, letting it pull away the sand.

Smiling, he returned to Jen and sat down in front of her. He held out his hand, and in the center of his palm was a piece of sea glass that he had created from heating the sand.

"Wow..." muttered Jen, taking the nearly transparent crystal and examining it.

Andrew smiled. "It was actually my sister's idea to do that. She figured out that if I heated the sand enough, it would be like if lightning struck it. It makes a different shaped crystal every time."

Jen turned the crystal over in her hand. "This one kind of looks like a feather," she said.

Andrew nodded. "You can keep it," he said. "If... if you want to..."

Jen smiled. "Thanks," she said, putting the crystal in the small beach bag she had brought with her.

Andrew's smile widened, and he looked back out at the lake. Then his smile fell. "Hang on a second, where's Caleb." He hadn't seen the young Seer come back to the surface yet, and it had nearly been ten minutes.

After another moment of watching, Andrew stood up and walked out into the water, looking for Caleb. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him, and he whipped around, shocked to see Caleb come stumbling out of the trees, soaking wet and breathing hard. He looked excited.

"Guys, guess what!" he exclaimed, looking at Jen, who hadn't even stood up. "I found these really cool caves just on the other side of the lake. There were a bunch of entrances from underwater, and I found another one back in the forest. Wanna go see?"

Jen shrugged. "It sounds cool, but maybe we'll check it out later."

Caleb nodded and ran back into the water, accidentally splashing Andrew, who flinched away from the water, even though he was already up to his knees in it.

Caleb shot him an apologetic look before running over to Josh. "Hey Josh, can you do me a favor?"

Josh stared up at him. "Uh... yeah," he said, standing up.

Caleb whispered something, and Josh smiled, looking both menacing and amused at the same time. Then he grabbed Caleb by the back of his swim shirt, lifted him up, and tossed him so far that he landed right in the middle of the lake. A moment later, Caleb resurfaced, laughing.

The twins saw what happened and excitedly paddled over to Josh.

"You guys want a turn too?" he asked, kneeling down in front of them and smiling. They both nodded excitedly, and Josh laughed. "Okay, who first?"

Sam jumped forward and turned around. Josh picked her up under her arms and lightly tossed her. She only went about half the distance as Caleb. Erika jumped forward, and Josh threw her the same distance as her sister. They both splashed around, audibly laughing. Their laughs spread to Josh, Andrew, and Jen.

Apparently, Josh was still in the mood to throw people. He looked to his left and saw that Ben had fallen asleep, floating on his back in the shallow water. Josh's smile widened, and he scooped Ben up and flung him through the air. He flew over the twins and splashed down hard and came up coughing and sputtering.

The high-pitch scream of surprise he had let out set off Andrew, who doubled over laughing.

Because he was doubled over, he didn't see Josh turn and look at him.

Suddenly, Josh had picked him up and was holding him above his head.

"Shit, no wait, Josh!" exclaimed Andrew, feeling his blood freeze. However, before he could do anything, Josh threw him into the lake.

He landed right in the middle of the lake, near where Caleb had been a minute earlier. He hit the water hard, and before he could even get a breath of air, he was underwater.

As soon as his head was under the water, he started to panic. He started thrashing and flailing, trying desperately to get back to the surface, but it was just causing him to sink faster. He couldn't think. His lungs were burning and his head was spinning. He felt his heart racing, and he got tunnel vision as he lost more oxygen.

Just before his vision went black, he saw someone swimming down towards him. Then he lost consciousness.

* * *

Andrew woke up coughing a few minutes later. He blinked the dizziness out of his eyes and looked around, breathing hard.

He was laying sprawled on the sand, soaking wet and trembling despite the heat. Jen was sitting next to him, leaning over him. He felt her hand on his chest, and he realized his head was in her lap. Her face was only inches from his. Everybody else was standing around him, looking down at him with worry. Josh especially looked mortified.

Jen breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Andrew was awake. "Good to see you're breathing again," she said quietly.

Andrew smiled weakly. "W-what happened?" he coughed out.

"Caleb pulled you out of the water, and you weren't breathing, so I... fixed it..." said Jen quietly, blushing a bit.

Andrew's tired smile widened. "Can you help me sit up?"

Jen nodded, and she helped Andrew into an upright position.

"Andrew, why didn't you tell us you can't swim?" asked Ben.

_Same reason I didn't tell everybody you're afraid of the dark,_ thought Andrew. He didn't say that however. He only shrugged.

Jen looked at the others. "Guys, I think we're done for today. Should we go back?"

They collectively nodded, and a minute later, they were all packed up and ready to go back to the Library.

Jen helped Andrew to his feet, and when she did so, Andrew whispered "Next time you kiss me, I better be conscious..."

Jen had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing and to hide her blush.

A few minutes later, they were on the trail again. Little did they know, they were being watched.

Rogue was hiding just beyond the trees, watching. The gun in his hand was fully charged and armed. He only had one shot though.

He knew who he would try and hit though. If he could just take out the Healer, then his plan would be a lot less complicated.

Moving into a better position, he took aim. As soon as he pulled the trigger, he would have to run.

He kept waiting.

Then Ben walked into the right position.

Rogue pulled the trigger, and a blast of green light shot out of the gun. However, just before it could hit Ben, Caleb came flying out of nowhere and jumped in front of Ben. The green light hit him, and he dropped to the ground.

"Fuck..." muttered Rogue. A split second later, Jen and Josh were on him. Jen had pulled a knife out of nowhere, but Josh got there first. He punched Rogue in the chest, so hard that it would have caved in his chest cavity if he hadn't been wearing armor. The force of the impact sent Rogue flying through a two foot thick tree.

Jen and Josh ran after him, but he had already run off, disappearing into the forest.

"What the fuck was that?" exclaimed Jen, turning and running back to the group. However, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Caleb, unconscious on the ground. Ben was kneeling next to him, his expression a mixture between concern and confusion and panic.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Jen quietly.

Ben shook his head. "No idea..."

Jen nodded quickly, looking over her shoulder. She knelt down and picked up her brother, even though he was almost as tall as her. "Okay, let's get the hell out of here."

Ben nodded, and they met back up with the rest of the group. Then they ran.

* * *

_A/N: God dammit Caleb, stop jumping in front of guns._


	3. Silence

_A/N: I AM IN THE MOOD TO WRITE! So, as I may have stated before, this story won't be quite as long as Gracepunk. I think it should be about 9 or 10 chapters, but it'll be intense. Very little downtime. So, I hope you guys are ready for this!_

* * *

**Gracebeast**

The Library was silent.

James was in his workshop, fixing a piece of the leg brace he had made for himself. It was such a simple fix that he didn't even need to use his Grace. He was just enjoying the quiet, especially since all the younger members of the group were at the lake, and Christopher had drunk himself into a stupor again.

As if they were summoned just by thinking about them, James heard the front door slam open. With a sigh, he put his leg brace back on and stood up, leaving his workshop.

He didn't expect to see Jen running past him in a panic, carrying her unconscious brother. Ben followed close behind her, and they disappeared deeper into the Library.

A moment later, Andrew, Josh, and the twins came around the corner. James came forward and grabbed Andrew's arm.

"Andrew, what happened?" asked James.

"Gracebeast," said Andrew, looking pale. "There was just one, and he attacked us. He shot Caleb with some gun, and he just dropped."

James nodded and looked at Josh. "Go tell Christopher." Josh nodded and ran off to go find Christopher. The twins stayed put, staying close to Andrew.

James saw this and looked at Andrew. "I'll keep an eye on the twins. You go check on Caleb."

Andrew nodded, and the twins swarmed over to James. Then Andrew went and ran after where Jen and Ben had gone. When he found the room, he walked in expecting to see blood everywhere. However, he was shocked when he saw Caleb sprawled on a bed under a blanket with Ben and Jen standing on either side, not doing anything.

"Uh... what's going on?" asked Andrew, stepping into the room.

Ben shook his head. "I have no idea," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Andrew, glancing at Jen, who looked just as perplexed.

"There's nothing wrong with him," said Ben. "He's just... asleep. There aren't any injuries, there's nothing to heal..."

Andrew took a step closer and looked at him. His expression was peaceful, and his breathing was even and deep. In fact, it looked like he was sleeping better than he had been in the last eight months.

Suddenly, Andrew heard angry shouting from outside.

"Oh, I guess Christopher's awake," muttered Andrew, rolling his eyes a bit.

"I'll come with you," said Ben. Jen didn't move.

Andrew and Ben stepped out into the hallway, closing the door to the room. Christopher was there with everyone else, and he looked wasted. He smelled like it too.

"What happened?" demanded Christopher, glaring at Andrew and accusingly pointing an empty whiskey bottle.

"Why do you always blame me?" exclaimed Andrew, exasperated.

"Because it's usually your fault," growled Christopher.

Ben gulped, looking pale. "Uh... actually... this time it was my fault..." he said quietly, staring down at his feet.

Christopher slowly turned to glare at Ben, but when he saw his face, his expression softened. While Andrew always looked pissed when confronted, Ben usually looked like he wanted to cry, and Christopher couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. He yelled at Andrew because he knew he could take it.

With a sigh, Christopher took a step back and lowered his whiskey bottle. "Okay, from the beginning, what happened?" he asked, much calmer.

Stuttering, Ben explained with some difficulty what happened. How they had been on their way back and the Gracebeast had appeared and tried to shoot him, but Caleb pushed him out of the way. He also explained that Caleb didn't appear to have any injuries, but the gun had knocked him out, and he hadn't woken up yet.

At this point, Josh had mentioned how he had punched the Gracebeast through a tree, so he hopefully hadn't followed them.

Finally, Christopher sighed and nodded. "Okay, well what do you suggest we do?" he asked Ben.

The young healer looked shocked that they had asked for his opinion. He quickly cast a glance at Andrew, who gave him an encouraging nod.

Ben gulped before speaking. "I... I think we should wait until Caleb wakes up to decide what to do next."

Christopher nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan," he said. "We'll wait and see." Then he turned and went back to his room to sleep off the whiskey.

* * *

Caleb slept peacefully for two days straight. Ben wanted to say he was in a coma, but it was too light and natural to be a coma. He ended up realizing that when the gun had knocked Caleb out, it had given his mind enough of a break to let him fall asleep, and the reason he was still asleep was because he was so exhausted from all of the nightmares and sleepless nights he had been having.

Jen was still obviously distressed, but Andrew noticed that Caleb was actually looking a bit healthier. He didn't look quite as pale anymore, and the dark circles around his eyes and general exhausted look disappeared.

It was the morning of what would have been his third day of sleeping when he finally woke up.

Andrew and Jen were sitting by his bed. They were playing cards when Caleb started moving. He rolled over onto his back and stretched his arms, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

Jen immediately dropped the deck she was holding and stood up, leaning over Caleb.

Caleb tiredly blinked his eyes open, and he jumped a bit when he realized Jen's face was a few inches from his.

"Whoa, good morning to you too," he said with a laugh.

Jen stood upright, her eyes wide and her expression shocked. "Caleb..." she said quietly.

Caleb didn't seem to hear her. He rubbed his eyes again, trying to fully wake himself up. "God, why is it so quiet...?"

Jen bit her thumb. "Oh fuck..." she muttered under her breath. Andrew stood up when she said this, and he tried to get a better look at Caleb so he could see why Jen looked so mortified.

Caleb sat up, still looking half asleep. Then he realized Jen was staring at him, and he turned to face her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

That was when Andrew saw what was wrong, and he gasped.

Caleb's eyes had changed colors. They were no longer purple and green. Now they were silver and gold.

Jen took a step back and turned towards the door. "BEN!" she shouted. A minute later, Ben stumbled through the door and quickly came over to Caleb, who was sitting looking confused.

Ben quickly came over to Caleb, looking shocked. "Holy shit, what happened?" he muttered. He grabbed Caleb's chin and held his head up so that he could examine his eyes.

"Guys, you're freaking me out..." said Caleb, glancing at Jen and Andrew.

Ben let go of his face and stepped back a bit. "Caleb, how do you feel?"

Caleb shrugged. "Fine. Hungry. Thirsty. Kinda have to pee. Why?"

"Your eyes..." said Jen, looking pale.

"You do realize I can't see my own eyes without a bit of assistance, right?" asked Caleb sarcastically.

"Fine, then use your sixth sense to tell yourself what your eyes look like," said Jen, still looking pale.

Caleb glared at her, but then he froze, his eyes wide and glazed over. He grabbed his head and stared into space for a minute.

"Oh..." he said, his voice no more than a whisper. "So that's why it's so quiet..."

"Uh, I'll be right back," said Ben before turning and running out of the room.

Caleb slowly let his hands fall back to his sides. Then he stared at his hands, and the room plunged into an awkward silence for a minute until Ben returned with Christopher and James.

Caleb looked up as soon as they came in. "It's gone..." he said sadly, sounding forlorn.

"Your Grace?" asked Christopher, seeing the color of his eyes.

Caleb nodded sadly.

"Wait, what?" exclaimed Andrew in a whisper. Ben, who was standing next to him, quickly whispered back to him that Caleb's Grace was gone, and the only reason his eyes were two different colors was because he was born with heterochromia.

Caleb was Ungraced.

"How could this have possibly happened?" muttered Christopher. "There's nothing that could possibly take away someone's Grace, right?"

He looked at James for confirmation, but James was looking pale as well. He was thinking back to what had happened eight months ago at the Factory. He forced himself to look back before his son died.

He remembered running around the workshop and destroying all of the weapons the other technokinetics had been working on.

He had destroyed all of the but one. The one he had been building.

No. The one he had finished.

"Oh no..." muttered James, turning away and pacing towards the window.

Christopher caught onto his tone and seemed to instantly realize that James figured something out. "What did you do...?" he asked accusingly.

James shook his head a bit. "When... when I was being held captive at the Factory... they gave us blueprints for weapons we had to build... And the weapon they gave me to build... it didn't make sense at the time... but..."

Christopher stepped closer to James. "That gun that Caleb got shot with. It was the gun you built, wasn't it?" he asked.

James slowly turned around and nodded. "A weapon that can take away your Grace..." he whispered in horror.

Christopher grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him a bit. "James, focus," he said. "This weapon must require a lot of power to work, right?"

James nodded vacantly. "A-after the first shot, it should take two days to recharge... but... but every time it's fired, it takes less time to recharge."

"Oh, well that's fantastic..." muttered Caleb.

Christopher shook his head and turned away from James. "We need to leave," he said to the four younger Gracepunks. "The weapon will have recharged by now. Pack everything you need and be ready to leave in half an hour."

They nodded, and he turned and left the room to go inform Josh and the twins. However, when he entered the hallway, he ran right into Josh.

"Josh, listen," he said. "We have to leave. I need you to go stand guard while we get ready. Is there anything specific that you want us to pack for you?"

Josh shook his head.

Christopher nodded. "Okay, excellent. We'll be ready to leave soon. Make sure nobody gets inside."

Josh nodded and took his machete off the sheath on his back. Then he turned and ran out the door.

* * *

The twins seemed devastated by the news that they had to leave their precious Library. They packed more books than they could carry, so Christopher told them they had to leave some behind. However, when he wasn't looking, Andrew and Ben slipped the books into their bags, much to the relief of the twins.

Ten minutes later, everybody was ready to leave.

"At least this time it'll be warm," Andrew whispered to Ben as they headed for the door.

However, when Christopher opened the door, they were all shocked to see Josh lying flat on his back on the ground, unconscious.

Christopher dropped his bag and quickly knelt down next to Josh, trying to wake him up. He remained unresponsive for several minutes until Ben got an idea. He went inside and came back with a bucket of water, which he emptied over Josh's head. This snapped him back into consciousness.

And when Josh opened his eyes, they saw that they were both brown.

"Well this just got a lot harder," muttered Andrew. They had lost their Seer and their giant. That was when Andrew realized that the duty of protecting the group had suddenly fallen on himself and Jen.

Poor Josh could barely stand, now that he no longer had his strength Grace.

"Is this what normal people feel like?" he had asked, even though without his strength Grace he was still twice as strong as the average moose.

They left the Library quickly after that, knowing that the Gracebeast couldn't be far away.

However, as they were leaving, Caleb heard something rustling around in the bushes near the back of the Library. His curiosity getting the better of him, he quickly ran over to see what it was.

At first he didn't see anything, but then something jumped out of the bushes at him. He jumped back in shock, but he relaxed when he realized that it was just a tiny dirty puppy.

Kneeling down, he held out his hand, and the puppy cautiously crept closer. Then, realizing it might be hungry, he reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of meat that he had stolen from Josh. The little puppy devoured it, and Caleb was able to pick him up.

After he brushed the dirt and mud off, he realized that it was a miniature pinscher pup. It was mostly brown with a bit of black fur on it's back that made a ring that looked like the number 0.

Caleb smiled at the puppy. "Do you think they'll let me keep you?" he asked it.

The puppy looked up at him and licked his nose.

Caleb laughed and turned to catch up to the group, carrying the puppy in his arms.

"I'll name you Zero," he said.

Then he caught up to the others, and together they all began the long walk to the Sister City, the only place where they could still hide.

* * *

_A/N: Wow, this took a while to write. Sorry about that. BUT WHAT?! A gun that can take away someone's Grace? And Caleb and Josh are now Ungraced! Holy shit! What's gonna happen next?_

_Also, NOW INTRODUCING ZERO! What an adorable puppy..._


	4. Ambush

_A/N: Guess what guys? I graduated from high school! I'm now officially a college student! And I am so ready for summer._

* * *

**Gracebeast**

They had walked all day. By the time it got dark and they had to stop, they were half a mile from the city.

Because they had left the Library in such a hurry, they didn't really have any food with them, so they fell asleep hungry. They also didn't have time to find the tents, so everyone slept on their blankets. Luckily, it was warm enough that they didn't have to light a fire, and they were far enough away from the lake and any bits of swamp that they didn't have to worry about the mosquitoes. The only thing to worry about was the Gracebeast with the gun that could take away their Graces.

Andrew lay awake, watching the moon and stars drift across the sky and listening to the sounds of the forest. He felt fairly safe, because the little puppy that Caleb had found earlier was sleeping soundly, meaning there was no danger nearby.

Andrew smirked when he saw the puppy. Literally everybody in the group _except_ Christopher had noticed it, and nobody felt the need to mention it.

After confirming that the pup was still asleep, Andrew turned his attention to Caleb. He was still worried about him, but he did notice that he was sleeping soundly. He wasn't tossing or turning or screaming from the nightmares or visions that had plagued him for so long.

He was starting to think that it was a good thing Caleb had lost his Grace. At least now it wouldn't kill him...

With a small sigh, Andrew turned his attention back to the sky. From the position of the moon, he could tell that it was well past midnight. Everybody else was sound asleep, and the only reason he wasn't asleep as well was because he had started feeling a bit nauseous a few hours after leaving the Library, and he still felt a bit sick. Granted, it was probably from not eating or drinking all day, and the fact that it had been a hundred degrees when the sun was out. At least now that it was night, the temperature had dropped to a more comfortable eighty.

The forest was still silent.

Finally, after about another hour, his tiredness overcame his hunger pains, and he fell into a light, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Rogue was watching. He could clearly see them thanks to his heat vision. That, and the infrared vision he had installed in his mechanical left eye. The mechanical eye that replaced the one he lost when the technokinetic Graceling blew up the gun he had been holding. He had also lost his hand from that explosion.

He glared down at the gun in his hand. It hadn't recharged yet, which was the only reason the girl still had her Grace. But it would recharge by mid morning. Only 24 hours. The recharging time was decreasing. Still, he had to hurry and take her out before they got to the city, or it would be much harder for him to get them alone.

The only reason he hadn't crept into their camp and slit their throats was because of that damn dog. That and the fact that one of the Gracelings was glowing abnormally bright in his heat vision. He could tell that this one was the pyro that had killed the Baron and destroyed the factory. The nephew of the one that betrayed them, and the brother of the Graceling he was currently holding hostage.

Because the pyro's body temperature was naturally higher than the others, he couldn't tell if he was awake or not. If he tried to sneak in and he managed to not wake the dog, the pyro would certainly hear him.

He was just as dangerous as the girl that had killed Felix. The more that he thought about it, he was probably more worth being neutralized. The way he saw it, fire was more dangerous than a knife or a gun.

After a few more minutes of debate, he made his decision.

* * *

Andrew woke up after everybody else did the next morning. He sat up and groaned in pain. His head and stomach hurt, he was dizzy, and he felt like he was going to throw up. He was shaking and sweating and he knew he was probably really pale. When he moved he felt the ache in his bones. He recognized it as a sign of dehydration.

Even when he was younger, dehydration had always hit him harder than most, mainly because of his Grace. One time when he was younger and still in school, he didn't drink enough water before a track meet, and he ended up passing out after his last race.

Looking around, he clearly saw that nobody else was suffering from dehydration quite as severely as he was. He figured he should just suck it up and gather his things so that they could get moving soon. The faster they got moving, the sooner they would reach the city, and the sooner they could get food and water.

Within a few minutes, they were on the move again. Andrew was struggling to keep up the pace, so he ended up at the back of the group, right behind Caleb and Christopher. Jen was all the way at the front of the group.

Caleb and Christopher were walking next to each other for about ten minutes before Christopher noticed the dog.

"Caleb, what the hell is that?" he asked, sounding more tired than angry.

"A puppy," said Caleb. "I found him yesterday, so I kept him. His name is Zero."

Andrew smirked at how nonchalant Caleb sounded. Because he was walking behind them, he couldn't see Christopher's face, but he assumed his expression was amusing.

"So you plan on keeping this puppy?"

"Duh, what else would I do?" asked Caleb sarcastically.

"Eat him?"

Much to Andrew's amusement, Christopher and Caleb sassed each other for a solid five minutes.

This would have gone on longer had Zero not started growling, his ears flat against his head.

"Zero? What is it?" asked Caleb quietly.

Andrew looked around before noticing that they had fallen back from the group.

He opened his mouth to mention it when suddenly a bright blinding green light shot out of the treeline right at him.

He felt an impact, and he was knocked to the ground. With a gasp, he opened his eyes and sat bolt upright. He saw a dark figure with a glowing red eye, lowering the gun, which was still smoking and glowing green.

Then he saw another much smaller figure rocket through the bushes and attack the Gracebeast's leg, ripping it open with a splatter of blood.

The Gracebeast let out a yelp and stumbled backwards, just as a knife flew through the air and imbedded itself in the tree where his head had been a moment before.

Seeing the knife and seeing Jen sprinting towards him, he quickly shook the dog off of his leg and ran off, disappearing into the trees.

Zero turned and trotted back to Caleb with a piece of bloody fabric in his mouth. Caleb shakily picked him up. "Good boy," he choked out, his voice cracking a bit.

Jen came running over and pulled Andrew to his feet. However, as soon as he was upright he was overcome with dizziness.

"Whoa, easy there," said Jen, holding him upright because he clearly couldn't stand on his own. "Ben?"

Ben looked up at Andrew from where he was kneeling on the ground. "Pale skin, dry lips, shaking, dizziness, fatigue... severe dehydration. We should be at the city within half an hour, so just don't do any running." He turned back around.

It was only then that Andrew realized Ben was kneeling next to an unconscious body.

"Well if he wasn't pissed before he's gonna be furious now..." muttered Caleb, coming to stand next to Andrew and Jen.

Andrew's eyes widened when he realized what had happened. He looked down at his hand just to make sure. A few licks of flames curled around his fingers.

Christopher had pushed him out of the way and taken the shot.

Within a minute, Christopher was awake. He instantly sprung to his feet and whipped around to face Andrew and Caleb, his bright blue eyes alive with rage. He focused it all on Andrew, ignoring the fact that he could barely stand.

"How did this happen?" he demanded. "Did you really let down your guard enough to give him that opportunity?!"

Andrew would have started defending himself, but he couldn't concentrate. Maybe it was just the dehydration, but Christopher's voice sounded different. It sounded smaller, weaker. Less intimidating.

Caleb and Ben had already come to Andrew's defense, and while the three of them were arguing, Andrew leaned over to Jen.

"He sounds different," he said quietly.

"It's because his Grace is gone," said Jen. "He doesn't have any influence over you guys anymore. This is what he always sounds like to me."

"It's weird," muttered Andrew.

A minute later, Caleb and Ben managed to calm Christopher down, and they started moving again. Ben came over and helped Andrew walk so that Jen could return to the vanguard. Caleb came and walked on the other side of Andrew, and he spent half the walk cleaning blood off of Zero's face. Christopher stayed in the back of the group, sulking.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally spotted the skyscrapers in the distance. Soon, the trees began to thin out, and they came across the signs of civilization. The path became less overgrown, they saw the occasional piece of paper or bottle stuck in the underbrush, and soon they started to see pieces of barbed wire leftover from the battles that had happened here before the war had moved into the Shadow Lands south of the forest.

They would reach the Wall soon. Getting past it would be the difficult part.

When they were only minutes away from the city when they came across a derelict single-story building. They decided to stop in the shade of the building and plan on how to get past the Wall.

Jen and Christopher started to discuss tactics while Ben and the twins tended to Andrew, who was barely conscious. Josh kept a lookout in case the Gracebeast returned.

Caleb set Zero down for a moment, but the puppy instantly took off and ran behind the building.

"Zero!" exclaimed Caleb, running after him.

James saw Caleb run off, so he quickly limped after him to make sure he didn't get into any more trouble. However, when he came around to the back of the building, he saw Caleb standing there holding the dog, but not moving. He was looking at something.

"Caleb?" asked James, coming closer. "What's wrong?"

Then he saw what Caleb was staring at.

"Oh..." he whispered, taking a small step back. Sticking out of the dirt was a small cross made of two thick branches. It was tied together with twine, and there was a name carved into it.

They both recognized the name of the person buried here.

Caleb looked at James, his eyes wide. "We can't tell him," he said, his voice grave.

"He'll find out eventually," said James.

"I know, but not now," said Caleb. "Not when we're still in danger."

Slowly, James nodded. Then he and Caleb quickly turned and went back around to the front of the building.

"Still don't have a plan yet?" asked James, walking over to Christopher and Jen.

"Shut up, we're still working on it," grumbled Christopher.

James was about to suggest something, but then Zero started to growl again.

Instantly, everyone was on their feet and on guard. Even Andrew, who was barely clinging to consciousness.

"Wow, you guys sure are jumpy," came a voice from the trees.

Everybody whipped around and looked up, shocked to see a dark-haired boy sitting on a branch about ten feet off the ground.

"Hang on a second," said Andrew. "I recognize you. You were one of the guys from the prison, right? What was your name again?"

"The name's Ethan," said the boy. "Or Electro, if you prefer."

"Electro? What are you, a Spiderman villain?" asked Ben sarcastically.

Ethan shrugged. "I prefer to be a good guy..." he said, seeming a bit offended.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" asked Caleb, quickly changing the subject.

Ethan turned and looked at him, his eyes lighting up. "Hey, little Seer dude!" he exclaimed. "We thought you were dead. Man, Danielle's gonna be happy to see you."

Caleb blushed a bit, but he quickly cleared his throat. "You didn't answer my question," he said.

Ethan's smile fell a bit. "Oh, right," he said. "I was just... visiting an old friend."

Caleb and James glanced at each other.

Ethan's eyes got a distant look for a moment, but he quickly shook it off. "I should be asking the same question. What are you guys doing all the way out here?"

"We're trying to get away from a crazy Gracebeast," said Jen. "Can you just help us get past the Wall?"

Ethan smiled, his grin wide and slightly deranged. "You guys saved us from the Gracebeast prison. It's about time we were able to return the favor."

Suddenly, he jumped down from the tree and landed hard, falling on his bottom.

"Well that didn't go as smoothly as I planned," he said before popping up on his feet. He reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to Andrew.

"Now follow me," said Ethan. "I'll get you into the City of Light."

**End of Part 1**

* * *

_A/N: Aw shit son, end of part 1! Man, that escalated quickly. Also... whose grave was that...? You'll find out... NEXT TIME!_


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